Despite being slow to start and suffering from a flat love interest, this book features an exciting ending.
Sixteen-year-old Charlie Hudson is deeply mourning the loss of her identical twin sister two years earlier.
To distract herself, she practices magic tricks, enjoying the feeling of surprising people with her sleight of hand. But when classmates start vanishing—leaving behind only their abandoned shoes hanging from trees whose trunks have been carved with strange symbols—Charlie launches her own investigation. Her search leads her to Elias Everheart, a mysterious and handsome boy who’s a new senior at her school. He immediately wins over everyone except suspicious Charlie. One day, she follows him into the forest where she discovers his shocking secret. Elias draws Charlie into a hidden world of woodland beings and ancient Norse magic—one that puts her life in danger. To explain her increasing time with Elias, Charlie tells her friends they’re dating, a lie that spirals out of control. As she and Elias hunt for the cause of the disappearances, they become embroiled in a battle that could destroy the world. Readers who persist past the slow beginning will find the book’s final third is a thrill ride. As a love interest, Elias unfortunately lacks charm, and his dialogue feels unnatural. The real highlight is the vätte, a tiny, gnomelike creature who’s obsessed with chocolate chip cookies and the TV show The Witcher. Most characters present white.
Despite being slow to start and suffering from a flat love interest, this book features an exciting ending. (content warning) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: July 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781250342966
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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